The Albigensian Crusade
Introduction
The Albigensian Crusade took place in the early 13th century and was directed against Christian heretics in southern France. It was a bitter conflict that had the characteristics partly of a civil war, partly of a persecution, and partly of an invasion. It lasted for twenty years and had repercussions that lasted for far longer. Even though the Albigensian Crusade had little to do with the crusades to the Holy Land, which is the focus of our course, it had an important impact on the theory of crusading and the role of the Church in calling and directing crusades, so it is worth a closer look.
We will begin with the heretics themselves and the politics and culture of southern France. We will look at Church ideas not only about heresy but also about warfare generally and crusading specifically, as it stood at the beginning of the 13th century. We'll follow the course of the conflict, and will end with a brief consideration of the effects of the Albigensian Crusade on the heretics, on the papacy, and on the crusading movement.
A word of caution, though: we have no records written by the Cathars themselves. All we have is indirect evidence, either of actions taken by the authorities, or by accounts written by inquisitors. In both cases, of course, the sources are prejudiced and selective. Many details simply cannot be filled in.